Posted
by
Zonk
on Tuesday September 04, 2007 @04:57PM
from the big-dragon-little-monitor dept.

Next Generation has confirmed with Sony a rumor working its way through fan boards: Lair is playable via remote on the PSP. That is, you can load up the game on your PlayStation 3, and then actually play it on the PSP's small-but-beautiful screen. This is functionality that Sony has been hinting at since the PS3 was announced, but up until now remote play has been restricted to music and movies stored on the console. Kotaku notes in their writeup that you need to play through the tutorial first on the console proper if you want to do this. The PSP doesn't have the buttons the game uses to brake.

Seriously, it's the game forums that attract the most vicious frothing screaming animalistic fucktards, and some of them stop chewing their controllers long enough to wander onto slashdot. No point in dignifying them.

Come on. This is starting to become ridiculous. PA is an equal-opportunity hate site. They complain about everything that sucks, but they also have the balls to say if something is good, even if general consensus disagrees. In all the years of reading them, I've never felt that they are prefer any console or manufacturer.

Oh yes 1080p graphics despite the fact that it has framerate issues that would probably be cleared up at 720p! And it's really big, so it must be great! And motion controls that were used despite being heavily criticized by those who played early builds.Face it, the reviews for this game have been almost entirely negative. They say the story sucks, the controls are unresponsive, and the gameplay is tedious. PS3 fans have latched onto this game in the hopes that it would prove their system's worth, but it ha

Someone pointed me at a gameplay video which makes me think the game's fine, it's just that the controls are too realistic -- which is to say, they respond just fine, but gradually, and overreaction and overcompensation produce garbage. Makes sense to me.

Compare arcade steering to the steering of, say, an actual large object... Or compare it to what actually happens if you're riding an animal and you pull on the reins. It ought to react well, over time, to a gentle nudge, and not reward wild twisting and yanking.

In short, imagine driving an actual car, at freeway speeds, by yanking the wheel sharply (say, 90 degree turn of the wheel) every time you want to shift lanes. Would that work?

No.

But if you made a game where the controls reacted too much like an actual steering wheel, people would bash them as unresponsive or inclined to overrespond, because they expect a simplified interface.

If you're driving a car on the road, you can *feel* the car turning. If you're driving a car, this sense is a large part of deciding how far and fast to turn the wheel. It's all pretty much an unconcious process, I'm sure you remember steering too much or too little all the time when you started taking driving lessons. You lack this sensation when using a controler, even if it's a steering wheel with force feedback and whathaveyounot.You CANNOT make a computer car drive realistically without having some bra

Explain the ass-tastic targeting system described in the reviews, then.Also, if you're going to give the character a certain kind of "realistic" control intentionally, then you need to intentionally design the environment so that the "realistic" control isn't a hindrance. On this all the reviews seem to be unanimous -- in wide-open spaces with no enemies or objects, the controls are fine. It's just much of the action takes place in tight quarters.

The biggest complaint so far in the reviews is the awful control scheme. Maybe playing it through the PSP's interface will fix that. Certainly worth watching, in any case.

Since this is likely to be read by a lot of Sony fans, what games would you say are worth playing at this point? I have no interest in Motorstorm, so skip that one. I keep having an urge to buy a PS3, I just haven't found anything I want to play yet and some honest opinions would be appreciated.

The biggest complaint so far in the reviews is the awful control scheme. Maybe playing it through the PSP's interface will fix that. Certainly worth watching, in any case.

My understanding is that no, it doesn't. The PSP is missing the second shoulder buttons that you need for fast turns and other buttons. Why it was left on is anybody's guess. Perhaps it was as a proof of concept for future games.

Remote play is a cool feature but it introduces a small but very noticeable latency. This is not surprising

Other than that... Echochrome and GT5: Prologue look like all we've got for the rest of the year worth picking up, (maybe Heavenly Sword if you really like the genre), and Everyday Shooter whenever it is released.

There's also Home in the next few months if you find it interesting, but not everyone does. Working for a PS3 related website... I have to say that LittleBigPlanet almost seems like it's worth the purchase of a PS3 by itself, but I

I'm in the minority that actually enjoys Lair it seems. But quite honestly, I find the PS3 I bought last week to be about as useful as a paperweight. I only bought it because 60GB PS3s are on the way out, and I need something to play Assassin's Creed on. (And I DETEST Microsoft).

The Emotion chip plays PS2 games primarily through hardware, whereas the 80GB and later models emulate the PS2 through software. Sony has admitted that software emulation will reduce backwards compatibility. So for those who want to play the broadest range of PS2 games with the highest possibility of compatibility, the 60GB model is the way to go.

You do know that it's a near-certainty that the 80GB PS3 will go down in price by the end of the year, right?

Well if you are willing to wait another one, two or three years (how about 10 years) you will get a much better deal. Sort of stating the obvious don't you think.

Getting the 60GB or 80GB disk is not that much of a difference and if you want you can always put in a much larger off the self 2.5" disk (120Gb through 250GB plus) if you want. If you are genuinely looking at getting a PS3 then look

He's actually right though. There's a few reasons I wanted a 60GB model.

1) Hardware compatibility with PS2.
2) 80GB model probably won't be price dropped until the new year. (my best guess. I work in the industry). I bought a PS3 specifically to play Assassin's Creed. That comes out in a couple short months.

So yeah, I can afford to wait a few months. But I figured get it now while I still have the chance. If I have need for a bigger hard drive sometime, I can easily upgrade it myself for little

I'm not necessarily a sony fan ( dont feel strongly about them either way, certainly not enough to be considered fanatical). I do have a PS3, though, so here's what i thought of the games i am familiar with.I played the Motorstorm demo and hated it. (I'm not really into off-road racing so it is probably a good game for which i am not the target market).

F1 Championship Edition is a good game and lots of fun if you like Formula One. The big downside is that if you play career mode, it takes between 2 and 3 ho

Well lets see. Haze just went exclusive, and free radical has in the past made great stuff. Eye of Judgment looks neat, and at $60, not as hard on the wallet as I feared. Folklore's demo was pretty solid, so high hopes there. Ratchet and Clank is always fun, so thats a gimme, and Uncharted looks pretty good as well. Naughty Dog has some great talent, really hoping they pull off a winner. Wipeout, super stardust, Echochrome, and some other PSN games look fun, and at $5 to $10 a pop, too good to pass up

The biggest complaint so far in the reviews is the awful control scheme.

Yeah. I remember when we went from the single-joystick, four-button controllers to the scheme both Microsoft and Sony use, and Nintendo used on the Gamecube. Everybody complained about how complex it was.

I played Lair for the first time tonight, and after just a few minutes, I could do things with the combination motion-control and joystick/buttons that you couldn't dream of without the motion control. I can assure you, the control sche

Your suggesting that one games poor control system is comparable to the upgrade to dual analogue. Thats just daft.For one its nothing to do with the technology of the pad as other games using the technology have pulled it off nicely. Its everything to do with how they set up the control system and the vast vast majority hate it.

Secondly, who exactly is this 'Everybody' because as far as I can remember no one complained about dual analogue apart from a) the people who continue to believe the pad is too compl

I have played on many game machines and with regard to analogue sticks I don't really have any issues with the Gamecube, Xbox or even the PS controllers. I normally adjust my hands to accommodate the sticks and I can play for hours without getting sore hands. The exception to this was the N64 controller which I found IMHO to be horrible since I could only play an hour and my hands would cramp. Still what works for me may not work for others.

As most games on the PS3 tend to be ports of other games on other systems, if you have any of these already, you can probably skip the PS3 version.The most recent addition to my titles has been Elder Scrolls Oblivion. This game is absolutely beautiful, and translated really well to the PS3. The game of the year addition is due out soon

Ninja Gaidan Sigma is beautiful and fun. Spent many hours with this one. The demo is available for download from the online store.

Why would anyone want to play a PS3 game via the use of a PSP as a remote as opposed to just playing it on the PS3? Is there some added functionality here that I'm missing, or is this just geeks at Sony wasting effort?

Because it can be done from anywhere there's a wifi connection, not just at home? If someone really enjoys a game, it's a neat idea to be able to play it a little from work/school/coffee shops, or even friends houses. I'd suspect lag would make it largely unplayable for action games, but it's still a good way to show someone the game or get a quick fix.

Because it can be done from anywhere there's a wifi connection, not just at home? If someone really enjoys a game, it's a neat idea to be able to play it a little from work/school/coffee shops, or even friends houses. I'd suspect lag would make it largely unplayable for action games, but it's still a good way to show someone the game or get a quick fix.

Remote Play, for anyone who hasn't tried it yet, is like VNC. Basically, when it's enabled, the PS3 switches from whatever high-def output it's doing to 480i

Why would anyone want to play a PS3 game via the use of a PSP as a remote as opposed to just playing it on the PS3?

Well, presumably in your Sony®-branded home, you'll have your Playstation® 3 connected up to your expensive and enormous Sony® BRAVIA® high-definition television. But what happens if some other member of your household wants to watch the television? Do you go without playing your wonderful games? No! Just get out your Sony® PSP® and continue from where you left of

Because the 60GB and now the 80GB PS3 has WiFi why would you want to move your PS3? If you have a second TV just get a Component/Composite stereo transmitter and take your controller in the room you have your second TV and play any PS1/2/3 game. Of course a second HDTV (say 26") is almost a must but it would leave the rest of the family free to watch the large screen HDTV in your living room, unless they want to watch a Bluray movie on the PS3 (sigh!). Having the ability to play the PS3 game on your PSP (if

The controls are very cool. Tilt left and right and your dragon turns that way. You have a range fire attack with one button, and an up close attack button where you go head to head with other dragons.

I really wish there was a slashdotscanner ala wikiscanner to prove that you're the same AC who's always posting about Wii controllers being gimicky and "bolted" on.

"I get the feeling that there are people who really fear this game. I suppose the fact that the PS3 can run a game that looks this good at 1080p and shows what a real next gen game's disc requirements are(25 gigs for Lair) make people feel their console is inferior and need to lash out."

Yeah, that'd be so much worse than somebody using a horribly reviewed game with pretty screenshots to pre-emptively lash out at the people using more popular consoles.

The problem with LAIR is mostly down the control scheme. Forcing people to use tilt and gestures for flying with no alternate conventional control scheme was a TERRIBLE IDEA. They should have supplied a normal stick control scheme for people who don't like gesture based gaming. Tilt might just about work but abstract gestures that bear little relation between the physical action and what happens in the game suck big time. They've always sucked and they'll continue to suck. I remember the frustration after e

Forcing people to use tilt and gestures for flying with no alternate conventional control scheme was a TERRIBLE IDEA.

Let's see-- "Forcing people to use *two joysticks* (one under each thumb) and two sets of crazy buttons, with *extra buttons under each index finger* is just insane!"

The point is, the gameplay was built around the sixaxis controller. That's one of the things Sure, you could fly around, but you couldn't do much else. The shear variety of attack sequences available would be prohibitive. It'd b

The control scheme for flying is intuitive, easy-to-use, and makes for amazing gameplay.

No it isn't, or it wouldn't have been repeatedly panned by critics. Some people do not like twisting their wrists or making spastic abstract gestures to make their dragon / plane / duck react. The duck is reference to Super Rub A Dub - a simple tilt puzzle game where the single jump gesture managed to be screwed up. Especially when there is a stick and a surfeit of buttons to provide an alternative scheme with little d

I remember the frustration after encountering the gesture based spells in Black & White on the PC. Nothing has changed. Abstract gestures suck as much now as they did then.

Yeah, boy was that game a flop! I'll just link wikipedia's list of failures which it encountered when it was released:

* E3 2000 Game Critics Awards: Best of Show, Best Original Game, Best PC Game, Best Strategy Game
* E3 1999 Game Critics Awards: Best Original Game
* BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards 2001 for Inter

You're right Black & White did get a lot of awards and in some ways it was an amazing game. Gestures was not one of those ways. It sure as hell wouldn't have hurt the game to provide a keyboard or menu alternative to gestures either.

I'd also point out that LAIR is not an amazing game. It has amazing graphics and the potential to be amazing but clearly the game play mechanics are not up to snuff. It doesn't help when the control scheme alienates reviewers and players with no alternative scheme to use.

I'm confused as to how you know how well Lair is doing at the cash register. I wouldn't mind if it did do well, since that would give the PS3 leverage, but the only thing I've seen is that it's #1 on the PS3 list at GameStop, which isn't saying much in and of itself. Especially since it doesn't show up on the overall best-sellers list at all.

Vgchartz has Lair selling 92,441 copies 8th in the United States. They're not completely accurate I don't think, but for a game with universally bad reviews, the sales are pretty good. More notably, they have Warhawk selling over 107k, which doesn't include online sales.

"But if you made a game where the controls reacted too much like an actual steering wheel, people would bash them as unresponsive or inclined to overrespond, because they expect a simplified interface."
I believe what you are looking for is called Gran Turismo. And it's good.